The Buffalo wings competition in Savannah is about to heat up.
Buffalo Wild Wings is set to open one of its sports bar-style restaurants on the city’s southside next month.
“Right now, we’re slated to open April 14,” said Randy Groover, a regional marketing manager for the restaurant chain.
Buffalo Wild Wings had been eyeing a spot in Savannah for more than two years, Groover said, and the 7700 Abercorn St. restaurant will be the Minneapolis-based company’s 15th location in Georgia.
“Savannah’s always been kind of a key market for us,” he said. “We’ve slowly worked our way down (Interstate) 16.”
The company has opened restaurants in Macon and Statesboro in recent years.
“Now we’re heading down into Savannah and looking forward to having our first one open up,” Groover said.
With about 9,000 square feet of space, the restaurant across from the Oglethorpe Mall at Mall Boulevard and Abercorn will be able to seat 401 people at its 80 tables and bar, said general manager Harvey Hansel.
As construction nears completion, the restaurant is hiring staff. Hansel said the Savannah location will employ 151 people, including 70 servers, 40 cooks and 15 bartenders.
The restaurant will have 64 TVs, including four 200-inch projection screens, for broadcasting sporting events, Hansel said.
With plans to stay open until the early morning hours six days a week and midnight Sunday, the restaurant will serve burgers, sandwiches, salads and, of course, Buffalo wings in a variety of flavored sauces. City Council will hear a petition for an alcohol license for the restaurant at Thursday’s meeting.
All told, there will be 30 taps and 35 bottled beers, including selections from Savannah breweries Southbound and Coastal Empire, Hansel said.
Hansel said he expects the Savannah location to do well. The Statesboro restaurant took off when it was opened mid-December during break for Georgia Southern University students, he said.
“It’s not a typical college hangout,” Hansel said. “We’re a sports grill.”
Opening morning, he said, could get kind of hectic. The restaurant will open an hour early, at 10 a.m., and employees will offer the first 100 people at the door free Buffalo wings each week for a year.
It’s sort of a tradition, and crowds build up for it, said Hansel, who was also involved in opening the Statesboro location.
“We had people in tents and sleeping bags,” he said.
BUFFALO WILD WINGS
Buffalo Wild Wings, headquartered in Minneapolis, claims to sell an average of 26 million traditional and boneless wings each week.
The Savannah restaurant, at 7700 Abercorn St., is expected to open April 14. Management plans to employ 151 people. To apply, go to www.buffalowildwings.com and select careers at the bottom of the homepage.